The Information Services Department (ISD) today (September 19) introduced a new arrangement to allow admission of eligible online-only media to government press conferences and media events.

In general, online-only media which are bona fide mass news media organisations (MNMOs) whose principal business is the regular reporting of original news for dissemination to the general public can apply for registration with the ISD’s Government News and Media Information System (GNMIS), for receiving government press releases and media invitations.

For the purpose of identifying bona fide online-only MNMOs, the applicant organisation should meet the following requirements:

(i) It can provide proof of regular online news reports in the past three months immediately preceding the application;

(ii) It has been updating its news platform at least five days a week;

(iii) It is staffed by at least an editor and a reporter; and

(iv) It is registered under the Registration of Local Newspapers Ordinance (Cap. 268).

The ISD will review the new arrangement approximately six months after its introduction. Should representatives of any media organisation conduct activities other than news reporting or misconduct themselves by, for example, using foul language, causing disruption to the orderly conduct of the media events or staging protests at the venue of a government event, the qualification of the media organsiation involved in covering government events may be suspended or revoked. This is to ensure that the reporting work of other media organisations will not be affected.